Mowatte Mabase
by Sumomo San
Summary: Superior Raharu lends Naota a vespa, who jumps on it and heads off into the distance. But something seems to be slowing him down... Takes place after 2nd FLCL manga, but helps a lot if you've seen the anime too. Rated PG13
1. Turn Around

This is set just before the ending of the 2nd FLCL manga, NOT anime. But it helps if you've seen both, because I kind of stray from the manga-only idea around chapter 3.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FLCL characters, DUH.

The words under the title in between -these- are the names of the songs that go with each chapter. All songs are by The Pillows.

Rated: PG-13

Mowatte Mabase

Chapter 1: Turn Around

-Flame-

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.:."I'll leave you this hyper flight Vespa. With practice, you'll be able to fly it into outer space too." The words echoed in his head as he climbed awkwardly onto Superior Raharu's Vespa :clunk: and stepped on the gas. "Owww…" :Vroom vroom vroom: "Oww. My fingernails are coming off. Oww. It hurts." The extreme pain brought him to tears but he allowed them to silently stream down his face. :Vroom vroom vroom vroom vroom vroom vroom vroom vroooooooom: Before he could notice an old lady walking her dog got into his path. Naota quickly braked and screeched to a stop right before hitting the elderly woman and her annoying yappy mutt. He looked at his bloody hands blankly and then up at the sky. ". . . What am I supposed to do now?" He sat like that for quite some time until the sun had started to set and the blood had dried and caked over his fingers, the tears long melted away.

.:.Do I love Haruko? Do I love Mamimi? Does Mamimi love me? Is she okay? What about Ninamori, is everyone all right? What about my brother, does Mamimi still love him… Does she realize he's not coming back? This must be a dream, how could all of this be real? No, it is. Somehow. Nothing makes sense. Do I control Canti, or Atomsk, or whatever it is? Will Haruko ever come back? I can't even be sure if these are really my thoughts. Why? I'm only a kid. Is this my fate? Why can't I understand anything!

.:.A drop of rain hit Naota square on the nose, alerting him to the world around him. During the time that he was spacing and thinking of Haruko, and Mamimi, and Canti/Atomsk, and Ninamori, and even his brother, it had grown dark and a little cold, not to mention the heavy rain clouds looming above that threatened to drop in sheets at any moment.

.:.Naota repositioned himself, and not sure what he was doing or where he was going, started up the Vespa and headed off further into the darkness of Mabase.

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((This was the end of the story until I got enough comments encouraging me to go on))

Edit: I got a review telling me to continue, and I was working on it anyway so… well, read on. Also, sorry for my mistakes in not capitalizing 'Vespa' my spell check didn't tell me I needed too…


	2. Wishful Thinking

Mowatte Mabase

Chapter 2: Wishful Thinking

-Sad Sad Kiddi-

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:clank: The Vespa slowly halted as the engine sputtered in protest. Naota found himself at the bridge where he had always met Mamimi. Glancing down he thought he saw something lying in the grass… He could clearly see Mamimi sitting with her feet in the water, playing with the mewling kitten dubbed 'Takkun.' _Wishful thinking_ he muttered, shaking the image from his head.

.:.The biting cold and howling gale ripped at his light blue windbreaker, the rain penetrating his hood. Pulling it down, since it was useless anyway, as he mussed his hand through his hair he realized this was the first time he wasn't wearing a silly hat or giant bandage to cover up some new robot protruding from his head. For a moment he smirked, but suddenly a feeling of regret and longing rushed over him. In spite of himself he started to reminisce of Haruko and her antics… Haruko and her warmth… Haruko's smell…. Haruko… Haruko… Haruko…

.:.Naota felt himself blushing and for some reason this aggravated him. Raising his head to the sky, closing his eyes and letting the rain fall calmed him a bit, but the thought kept rising like bubbles to the top of his mind… _Why did she leave me?_

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	3. Lullaby

Mowatte Mabase

Chapter 3: Lullaby

-Sleepy Head-

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.:. Mindlessly steering, lead solely by instinct Naota drove the Vespa. He accelerated to a dangerous speed as the rain splattered his tear-stained face and the wind constantly challenged his balance. He soon found out no matter how fast he sped or how far he went he couldn't put the past behind him. Not willing to admit this he drove all night until dawn, completely soaked, his hands covered in blood and tired as hell. Barely awake, he found himself at the coast. Haruko has taken him there before, to this same exact spot. Sighing and cursing himself for leading him to this spot of all places, he parked his vehicle, curled up on a bench by the side of the road and allowed the only comfort in his life, sleep, to claim him.

.:. When he finally awoke it took a moment for him to realize where he was. A gull cawed overhead and behind him waves lapped the ocean's shore. Feeling quite dizzy but never giving a thought to his personal well-being, he staggered to the Vespa and with difficulty started it up. He had nowhere to go but to whence he came from. As unwelcoming as it was, and as much as he wished to stay away from that vile place for the rest of his life, he headed back to the place he once called home… Possibly for the last time.

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	4. Residence of the Damned

Mowatte Mabase

Chapter 4: Residence of the Damned

-Nightmare-

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.:. _Home. That word doesn't fit. Not after… Not after…_Naota didn't want to think on it. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to see him ever again. Praying that Sameji, the man he could hardly call father was not home, Naota opened the door to his former home and slipped inside. His heart started to race. Seeing that the coast was clear and there was no sign of any life at all in this wretched household, he could only think 'thank god… thank god…' as he crept up to his room.

.:. His room wasn't a comforting site for him either, unfortunately. His head started to ache as he gazed upon the top bunk wistfully. _Haruko… How could you use me like this?_ He fell to his knees. _Why did you leave me?_ The pain in his head now stinging, his insides screaming and his forehead feeling as it was about to burst, Naota clutched his head. His heart pounded in his ears, his aches spread throughout his body. He gasped for air as his lungs became tight and his heart heavy. Not able to hold it back, he let out a scream of pain and frustration. His hands suddenly felt hot and burning. As he took them down he saw new blood dripping from his forehead. Rushing to the mirror and pulling back his bangs, he saw something that dismayed and addled him; the mark of Atomsk cut into his forehead.

.:. As fast as it had begun, the pain faded. The mark on his forehead gradually healed itself, leaving Naota wondering if it had ever been there in the first place. Was it an illusion? _No,_ he thought as he touched his still warm forehead. _Does this mean… it's over? She's not coming back?_ "You know what!" He screamed, "I don't care anymore!" Denying what his heart was feeling and his brain was telling him, he snatched up his baseball bat. _A guitar… What is this doing in here?_ Something inside of him told him to take it. He strapped it across his back, grabbed his backpack and stormed out of the house, assuming that he would never again return.

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	5. Connection

Mowatte Mabase

Chapter 5: Connection

-Stalker-

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.:. The Vespa. Naota had only acquired it less than 24 hours ago, and already it had turned into a friend, his traveling partner that bore in his pain. It endured his struggles, it gave him a means to get wherever his conscience lead him next, and as almost a symbol of its brotherhood, it was stained with Naota's own blood. But… this was what had caused the blood to be spilled, and the tears to fall.

.:.Ignoring the irony and mounting his Vespa the thought struck him… What of Superior Raharu? _Not that I care…It's not my problem._ Putting it in the back of his mind :clunk: Naota started it up to that familiar sound :vroom vrooooom: and headed on his way.

.:._Mamimi. She needs me… But she's been gone since…_ Naota drove the empty roads on this cloudy day in search of her. Everywhere he could think to look… Nothing. _Where is she!_ Naota thought angrily. At the edge of Mabase, on a bridge overlooking the river stood a soda machine. Approaching it, Naota fished some change out of his pocket and slowly put it in. :click click: He pushed the button automatically, a reflex without even looking. Nothing happened. Pushing the button again, the SOLD OUT button blinked. Glancing at the soda he had been attempting to purchase, "I don't like… the sour stuff…" Naota said quietly, with tears in his eyes. _Dammit!_ Jumping back on the waiting Vespa he sped off to get away from his mistakes, his problems… himself.

.:. Naota stood at the edge of the river. _Mamimi's place. My place. Ours._ Swinging the bat at nothing in particular Naota gritted under his breath, _Useless. Effing useless._ Just then he noticed a cigarette butt on the ground, covered with Mamimi's lipstick with the word 'Chief' written on the side. Chief. Mamimi called him chief. She really was gone, she didn't need him, Haruko didn't need him, nobody cared if he lived or died. These thoughts kept running through his head as he smashed the bat into the cement walling.

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Note: 'I don't like the sour stuff' and 'Chief' are references to the anime. 


	6. Dormant

Mowatte Mabase

Chapter 6: Dormant

-Skeleton Lair-

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.:."This is it." Naota thought. He dropped his bat and slumped to the grown. The grass was cool and wet with morning dew, but why would he care? No one else did. Not about him. Haruko plain out used him, Mamimi strung him along and now when it was, what he thought her time of need, but was really his, she had disappeared. Life didn't seem to be worth it anymore. Anymore? Hell, now that he could see what was really going on this whole time, he saw no point to it. He never had found true happiness and he was sure at this point that he never would. His only moments of sanity seemed to be when he was unconscious, sleeping fitfully but with no dreams. Maybe that's what was bothering him. He knew there was a yearning for something more inside of him, yet no images of his former lover plagued his dreams. Although he had insisted that he loved her and begged her to stay with him forever, he wasn't constantly thinking of her even in his torpidity. Maybe it wasn't true love after all? Maybe he had been wrong, and made a fool of himself trying to prove something to someone who could never feel for him. Something that never even existed. These thoughts bounced inside his head, making it ache as he fell back onto the grass and, in resent, knowing that what was ahead of him was only dark and shadowy (not unlike his future), lay down to rest. It pissed him off that all he could do was think, and even more so that these thoughts lead him nowhere. Just before he drifted off into his small, fringed world1, he decided that this would be the end.

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1: Reference to a Pillows song. The Pillows sing the FLCL theme song and (about) all the music on the soundtrack. 


	7. Peak

Mowatte Mabase

Chapter 7: Peak

-Advice-

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.:.Naota's murky thoughts ran through an aching, hazy mind as the moon started to crest above him. Unwanted feelings shoved to the back of his head vaguely began to mingle with his current concern… _Where?_ _Mamimi's spot? Haruko's? _Beginning to doubt himself, he reached a decision and tried to believe in it, but sleep would not come. _Just as well. Better than wasting my last moments snoring._

.:.4 o'clock in the morning, Naota stood and looked over his current location. A dim streetlight, flickering slowly. A pile of empty soda cans. Old cigarette butts. Used matches. This would work… maybe no one would come here anymore after this. The painful memories that lingered under this bridge shouldn't have to haunt anyone but him, and he was meaning to take them away with him.

.:.Knowing by this time he couldn't turn back… he wouldn't… there was nothing waiting for him… On the other side nothing would be his bliss… Naota shook his head and tried to focus his drifting mentality. No one needed to deal with this besides him; he would make it obvious enough. He wouldn't cause any trouble… like he could have if he wanted to… He dropped his bag into the river and watched it slowly be lugged along the stream bottom until the water was deep enough for it to sink. The Vespa was perched up by the godforsaken soda machine, and the only items left on his person were his guitar and the razor blade in his pocket. _Goodbye evidence._

.:.Fastening the guitar on his back as there was no other solution, he sighed and pulled his sleeve up, revealing his wrist. Pulling out the blade, he slowly raised it to his arm. As he paused, holding it awkwardly, images of his former life flashed through his mind until he couldn't stand it anymore. Falling to his knees, he murmured and took the first cut. Blood splattered onto his shoes, sickly and thick. He held back the urge to whimper in pain, going deeper this time. Positive this would be the end. This was his suppressant and the only way out.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: If you like this ending, then stop reading here. If you are not satisfied, or it is too sad for you to beleive that our dear Takkun has done the unthinkable and commited suicide, then please read on to the next chapter. It'skind of like an alternate ending, buta continuation of this plot.But,if you think this is a good end... well, then, owari!


	8. Tatters

Mowatte Mabase

Chapter 8: Tatters

-Beautiful Morning With You-

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.:. "Naoooo-kun!" Whipping his head back and freezing at the sound of his name, a girl in a middle school uniform rushed at him and grabbed his arm. Slightly twitching and recoiling, he said coolly "Ninamori-san, you're late." "Gomen," she said lightly, panting. Blushing and releasing his arm, Ninamori ran her hands over her skirt as the pair began to walk to their new school. She couldn't believe the words that just came out of her mouth… Addressing Naota so casually, clutching his arm… Naota was also flushed but for another reason. He put his hand into his pocket and felt ashamed, visualizing the partially healed scars underneath his long sleeved uniform shirt. They were faint now, but probably would remain in their visible state forever. Even now he could hardly believe what he had even considered, nonetheless what he had started to do. Fully embarrassed and feeling his face glow an even brighter shade, almost positive Ninamo-chan was watching him, he looked at his feet and began to walk faster.

.:. Ninamori picked up her pace and glanced at her watch. Naota seemed concerned about something, and it wasn't that they were going to be late. The opening ceremony didn't start for another hour. "Takku—umm, Nandaba-kun?" He looked back over his shoulder at her for a moment, as she was a few steps behind no matter how much she quickened. When he turned back to face his path Ninamori thought quickly _Is it me? _before exhaling slowly and blurting "Is something wrong?" Naota abruptly stopped walking and Ninamori bumped into him. _Oh no, _Ninamori blushed furiously and started to step back and stutter an apology when Naota finally looked into her eyes.He touched hershoulder andsaid quietly but firmly "Of course I'm alright. You're by my side, right?" Ninamori was too shocked to reply when Naota took her arm and started back towards their destination. _Middle school already,_ Naota thought, releasing his friends arm and seeing Ninamo's weakly smiling face. _God dammit I'm such a lucky bastard… From now on I'm going to be careful with my future. I'm never going to be locked within myself again._ Naota finished his thought and smiled reassuringly at Ninamori-san, walking side by side into a new beginning.

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Owari

Itsumo, Sumomo-san

Thanks for reading! If you're here it means you wanted the alternate ending. I know this probably wouldn't happen but I didn't want to leave my readers depressed since I have so few ;-; Leave a review if you want me to go on! Otherwise, this is the end.


	9. Sequel Alert!

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**Alert!**

I have decided to make a sequel. I have had the better part of the first chapter written for a while now but just recently decided to post it. Remember, the more hits and reviews I get the more likely I am to continue on with the story, and also I will write it sooner if there is more interest. As of now the story is called Lonesone Diamonds. Check my authored stories to view. Thanks to my few but loyal fans :D Quality PWNS quantity _anyday_.

Sumomo-san

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